The Lakers expected him to be sidelined for up to eight weeks after he underwent arthroscopic surgery to mend torn meniscus in his left knee Dec. 24.

The Taft of Woodland Hills product has healed significantly faster than the team expected, however.

Now he’s ready to return to the practice court, perhaps as soon as Friday, and could be fit enough to play when the Lakers hit the road for a six-game trip late next week. He joined his teammates for part of their workout Tuesday.

Farmar is not going to rush his return, however.

“I’m going to do it when it’s right,” he said before the Lakers played the Clippers on Wednesday night at Staples Center. “It’s feeling good right now. (Tuesday) was the first day I actually practiced on it. It felt fine, didn’t swell up, and didn’t hurt me after.”

Farmar, a reserve guard who was averaging 7.9 points when he was injured in the Lakers’ loss to the Miami Heat on Dec. 19, underwent a strength test on his knee Wednesday. He did not have the results as of Wednesday evening.

“It’s feeling good,” he said, “but I want to make sure it’s right before I come back. … It’s the first time I’ve been hurt, so I want to come back better than before.”

Lakers coach Phil Jackson outlined Farmar’s possible return to the lineup, but did not wish to etch any of the Lakers’ plans in stone at this point. Jackson hopes Farmar can practice later this week, adding that he believed there would be “an outside possibility” that the former UCLA standout could play on the Lakers’ trip next week.

“We’d like to have him have a home game, but that’s next Tuesday, so I don’t know if he’s ready for that,” Jackson said, referring to the Lakers’ game against the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday. “He’s not there yet, but we feel good about his return.”

Bryant update: If you’re wondering why Kobe Bryant continues to wear a bandage over his right eye, you’re not alone.

It turned out when Bryant received four stitches to close a gash over his eye suffered during the Lakers’ victory Jan.11 over the Miami Heat, the job was botched and the wound hadn’t healed properly. Bryant had to get re-stitched earlier this week.

Marcus Camby said before the game that he’s hopeful of returning to the court ahead of the announced week to 10-day timetable set for him after he sprained his right ankle in Saturday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

“It definitely looked a whole lot worse than it turned out to be, so I caught a break,” he said. “I was able to put weight on it and walk off the court, so that made me feel better about the situation. But when I saw a replay of it, I was, like, `Wow.’

“I kept looking down at my foot to make sure my ankle was still there.”

Elliott Teaford covers the Anaheim Ducks for the Orange County Register and the Southern California News Group. He covered the Ducks for 12 years, including the Stanley Cup season, for the Los Angeles Times and the Daily Breeze before returning to the beat in 2018 for SCNG. He also covered the Lakers for five seasons, including their back-to-back NBA championships in 2009 and '10. He once made a jump shot over future Utah Jazz center Mark Eaton during a pickup game in 1980 at Cypress College.